If you're a fan of digital purchases, Nintendo's got something for you

When Nintendo announced the the SKUs to be available at the Wii U's launch, there was mention of a Digital Deluxe Promotion bundled in the Wii U Deluxe set. At the time, the promotion was explained as a reward system for digital purchases, but today Nintendo has detailed the system fully. Essentially, for every digital purchase made 10% can be redeemed for additional eShop currency, but only in $5 increments. The promotion will run through December of 2014.

Specifically, say a consumer purchases a full retail game for $59.99, they would receive 599 points through the Digital Deluxe Promotion. 500 points can then be "cashed in" for a $5 credit in the Wii U or 3DSeShop. The other 99 points will sit until another total of 500 has been accumulated. 10% cash back sounds like a winning proposition, to me.

Nintendo's goal, of course, it to encourage use of the eShop, where they likely pull in quite a bit more profit than at retail. Don't take my word for it, however, take executive vice president Scott Moffitt's:

"From day one, we want Wii U owners to experience the full breadth of great downloadable games and content available for the console. The Deluxe Digital Promotion is our way of encouraging Wii U Deluxe Set owners to explore the Nintendo eShop and discover how Wii U offers an incredible combination of fun, innovation, convenience and value."

There is some small print associated with the promotion though, so keep the following in mind if you pick up the Deluxe Set Wii U. Points can only be acquired from the following: Nintendo published games and content (DLC) and third party games (no DLC). Purchases made from the Nintendo Shop Channel or from the 3DS' eShop are both ineligible, too.

Still, the Digital Deluxe Wii U absolutely seems like the best deal of the two Wii U sets. For $350, or $50 more than the standard set, the deluxe set includes stands for the console and GamePad, a charging station for the GamePad, a 32GB storage vs. 8GB, Nintendo Land ($60 value), and the Digital Deluxe Promotion to boot. Get amped, the Wii U launches on November 18.

Sonic Flash - Will you be able to store games on the externals though? With the PS3 and 360 you can't do that, is the WiiU an exception? Seems unlikely, since that would make it even easier for pirates to share the games (and you know they really aren't a fan of pirates).

Even the Wii allows you to store downloaded games on the SD card or an external drive. That update was some time ago. To be more direct though yes, you will be able to play the games right off the drive on the WiiU.

Sonic Flash - Will you be able to store games on the externals though? With the PS3 and 360 you can't do that, is the WiiU an exception? Seems unlikely, since that would make it even easier for pirates to share the games (and you know they really aren't a fan of pirates).

Even the Wii allows you to store downloaded games on the SD card or an external drive. That update was some time ago. To be more direct though yes, you will be able to play the games right off the drive on the WiiU.

Excellent. I happen to have a spare drive I'm not using (forgot I ordered it a while back, and picked up a 3TB drive before it arrived XD).